When used in a real-time system that requires a high level of determinism, the variability of traffic timing on a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus can cause transmission issues. For example, data from devices that have high importance may not be able to make it on the bus if data from lower importance devices have been granted access. This is a result of using the standard PCI arbiter which relies on a simple fairness algorithm that has no knowledge of data or device importance or higher level system timing issues.
As a result, it is desirable to provide methods and systems for monitoring and transmitting data according scheduling methods and systems that take into account importance of data or devices. Other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.